Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Festival crush in Indian city of Kolkata kills at least 17, local media say

A crush at a religious festival in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata killed at least 17 people and injured dozens, local media reported on Saturday. Durga Puja, a multi-day annual Hindu festival in the state of West Bengal, draws ​huge crowds to temporary structures known as pandals that house idols of the goddess Durga.

Deaths confirmed after 'serious incident,' fire at Canada military base in Alberta

People were killed and injured in a serious incident that resulted in a fire on one ​of Canada's busiest military bases in Alberta, Defense Minister David McGuinty said on Saturday. "I'm saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as ‌a result of an ​incident" at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, McGuinty told reporters in Ottawa.

US wants Israel to 'crack down' on settler violence in West Bank, Rubio says

The United States wants Israel to do more to deter attacks committed by settlers in the West Bank, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday. "We're very disturbed by those images and what we're seeing," Rubio said. "We've asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff."

Pope Leo returns to Vatican four days after cancer surgery

A smiling Pope Leo left hospital in Rome on Saturday afternoon and returned to the Vatican four days after surgery for lung cancer, an illness that has prompted speculation about how his 17-month papacy might change. The pope walked unaided to his waiting car, waving to well-wishers outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital. He ‌stopped to speak to a 13-year-old girl named Varvara from Ukraine who has been in Italy for cancer treatment.

Albanian police fire rubber bullets as student protests rage

Police in Albania fired what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters on Saturday, the fifth day of mass student demonstrations demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama step down. Reuters video footage showed police firing a shotgun towards crowds outside the education ministry during clashes with protesters. Reuters reporters found rubber pellets on the ground and pellets hit two Reuters journalists and several protesters, leaving round marks.

Saudi-led coalition says helicopter crash in Najran kills two crew members

A reconnaissance AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday. The helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction in an area under the jurisdiction of the Saudi National Guard Ministry, the statement added.

Vietnam signs free-trade pact with European countries including Norway, Switzerland

Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein have signed a free-trade agreement with Vietnam, the governments of Norway and Vietnam announced on Sunday. Vietnam's trade ministry said it signed the ‌deal in Hanoi with the European Free Trade Association members.

Zelenskiy criticizes Trump's waiver of sanctions on Russia as 'wrong'

US President Donald Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia and tariffs on its goods days before they were to take effect will embolden Moscow to keep attacking Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, predicting even more US sanctions relief. "The decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me," Zelenskiy wrote on X. "It definitely helps only the Russians."

Iran urges US to ‌accept proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Iran's offer to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days is still on the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian media outlets on Sunday. Iran presented its proposal in mid-September after an interim ceasefire collapsed. Tehran later acknowledged receiving a US response but Iran’s security chief said last week negotiations have stalled because Washington failed to address all seven conditions for reopening the strait.

Rubio heads to Central Asia while other US officials hit foreign policy hot spots

While the Iran war smolders, Saudi Arabia fights the Houthis and a new rift opens in US-Ukraine relations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels on Sunday to Uzbekistan, a nation far removed from the biggest US foreign policy challenges. The top US diplomat is scheduled to land in Samarkand on Sunday to meet with leaders from the C5+1, a grouping that brings together the United States and the Muslim-majority post-Soviet states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Rubio says Trump to take up to 60 days to weigh Russia sanctions

The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation. Rubio said on Saturday that the ⁠president will use up to 60 ​days to assess the economic impact of Russia-related sanctions and tariffs that he waived a day earlier.

Japan PM Takaichi's support rate falls below 50%, ⁠lowest since taking office, Kyodo reports

The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration fell below 50% to its lowest level since she took office in October last year, Kyodo News Agency reported on Sunday. In a poll conducted between October 17 and 18, the approval rating for Takaichi's administration was 49.1%, the report said.

Analysis-Trump-Zelenskiy rift threatens vital support for Kyiv

From US threats to cut off intelligence support for Ukraine to a waiver of tariffs on Russian exports and a diesel deal that could help Russia fund its war, it has been a damaging week for ties between Kyiv and its most important ally, Washington. US President Donald Trump, frustrated by ⁠high energy costs he blames partly on Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, has repeatedly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A disruption of US-provided satellite internet services raised fears that Ukraine could be vulnerable as it prepares for another winter of Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Pope Leo pledges gradual return to duties in first event since cancer surgery

Pope Leo pledged on Sunday to slowly resume his usual activities as the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as he greeted crowds in St. Peter's Square during his first public event since undergoing surgery for lung cancer five days ago. The 71-year-old pontiff had ​an operation on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, fuelling speculation about how his illness might change his 17-month papacy.

Trump faults aides as Republican midterm prospects dim

President Donald Trump is blaming senior aides and political operatives for a faltering midterm strategy, questioning campaign spending, faulting redistricting and second-guessing candidate choices as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress, said three people familiar with internal discussions.

Trump is not on the November 3 ballot but repeatedly tells supporters ⁠to pretend that he is, hoping to mobilize voters who might otherwise skip the election. He has embarked on a frenetic campaign schedule while largely avoiding acknowledging his own role in shaping the strategy and how his unpopularity is weighing on Republican candidates in competitive races.

Mass protests in France spiral into worst riots in years

Rioting erupted in cities across France on Saturday as demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services spiralled out of control in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed for decades. While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in street marches in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police vehicles and ⁠officers.

In France's ​Limoges, the fire-ravaged town hall rekindles memories of Notre Dame

Residents in Limoges recoiled in horror on Sunday at the city's fire-ravaged town hall, an ornate 19th century neo-Renaissance building which survived two world wars but was torched by a masked mob during the worst unrest to convulse France in years. Stunned onlookers had watched helplessly the previous evening as the blaze tore through the roof, felling the building's clock tower in scenes that revived haunting memories of the collapse of Notre Dame cathedral's spire in a 2019 fire.

Lithuania tells residents to go to shelters after detecting suspected drone

Lithuania told residents in central and northern parts of the country to seek shelter for about an hour on Sunday morning after an unidentified flying object entered its airspace, the army and national crisis management centre said. The object was likely a drone which entered from Poland, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told reporters, adding that he had proposed a joint investigation with his Polish counterpart.

Iran's parliament approves Mehrdad Akhlaqi as minister of defence

Iran's parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi as defence minister on Sunday, ending months of ⁠interim leadership at the ministry and placing a former defence sector veteran in charge of the country's defence production and procurement apparatus. Akhlaqi replaces Majid Ebn al-Reza, who took over in an interim capacity after then Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed by US-Israeli strikes in February.

German police investigate fence breach at Leipzig airport

German police said on Sunday that they were investigating a breach at the Leipzig/Halle airport after a vehicle appeared to drive through a fence, in a second security lapse this year. In August, ⁠investigators discovered an explosive-laden drone near a runway at the airport, an event that German officials later said Russia was responsible for. Russia has denied ⁠the allegations.

France counts cost of worst unrest in years

France woke on Sunday to the wreckage of one of its most violent days of unrest in years after protests over high prices and public services left one demonstrator dead, hundreds of police injured and nearly 1,800 people arrested. Nationwide demonstrations erupted into riots on Saturday, with a town hall torched, shops ransacked, and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country.

Two killed, including 6-year-old, when truck drives through Kansas youth soccer game, police say

A truck drove into a youth soccer game in Wichita, Kansas, leaving a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man dead, and 10 others hospitalized with traumatic injuries, police said on Saturday. The injuries ranged from minor to severe, but none appear to be life threatening, ‌Wichita police Captain Aaron Moses said at a news conference. The two people killed were pronounced dead ‌at the scene, he said.

Polish airports in Lublin, Rzeszow resume operations after temporary closure

Polish airports in the eastern city of Lublin and in Rzeszow, in the southeast, resumed flight operations following a temporary closure to allow for military aviation actions, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency ​said in a post on X on Sunday. Poland scrambled aircraft protectively to secure its airspace during Russia's strikes on neighbouring Ukraine.